Rangers of Andera
by codman728
Summary: This is a story that is based off of the books The Ranger's Apprentice. It has completely new characters and countries. It is a technically original book, but the idea came from Ranger's Apprentice. Hope you enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Horgold crouched in the shadows of the castle watching as the young man came nearer and nearer to the castle kitchen "_This one's sneaky,_" he thought to himself, "_He may make a fine ranger someday._" Horgold was the castle's ranger captain. His job was to recruit new rangers from the adolescents training to be knights. As of right now the remaining trainees were trying to get to the castle's kitchen without him seeing. None had made it past him yet, but this was one of the best attempts he had seen in many years. He silently moved from his cover under the pine near the window of the kitchen. The boy did not see or hear him until he was right next to him.

"That was a nice sneak" Horgold whispered. The boys head whipped around to see the tall ranger standing less than three feet away.

"How did you get here? There was no one within fifty yards of here two seconds ago."

"I've been under that tree that entire time. None of you have been looking carefully enough to see me. You just assume no one's there and so your mind automatically skips over me." The man vanished and the boy gasped.

"See, you're still not paying attention" The man said from behind the boy. The boy spun around only to find that no one was there. He started creeping towards the entrance window again. He was one of the last remaining boys in the contest. It was a dream of almost every boy here to become a ranger, the protectors of the kingdom. He reached the window and was about to climb in for the prize when he heard a voice. "Ahem, I'm still here did you forget about me?" The ranger captain said. You need to be more careful. You're caught; go to the castle dungeon until the game is over."

"Sir" said the boy quietly, "how do you learn to move so quietly?"

"Well, that's something I can't tell you unless you become a ranger." The tall ranger said

"Do you think I have a chance at becoming one sir?" The boy asked timidly

"Well, you'll have to wait and see." Horgold said as he thought to himself. "_This boy is good for a beginner. It's hard to believe that he isn't already an apprentice in his second year of 'll have to see if anyone else is this good."_

Meanwhile nearby another ranger sat in the trees watching as the three remaining boys crashed through the brush with no more skill than a boar. "_Hmmm_" he thought to himself "_no one worth training here, maybe Horgold is having more luck than I am. Wait, but aren't there supposed to be four boys left in this area?_" He silently scanned the ground again looking for the fourth boy about whom he had momentarily forgotten. There almost to the window of the castle. "_Man,_" he thought _"Horgold is going to be mad if I let him get the pie._" Then as if he were a ghost, he leapt from the tree directly in front of the two boys working together, seemingly to wake up the whole castle.

"Oh, man" said one of the boys

"We got caught" said the other

The young ranger smiled, "It would have been a miracle if I didn't catch you. Off to the dungeons with you." He laughed

"Yes sir Mr. Bardon sir." Said one of the boys dejectedly as they walked towards the castle dungeons where the recruits that had been caught went.

"_Now to catch that boy_" He thought as ran silently through the forest. He stopped at the edge only to see the boy about to climb through the window; he was too late. As the boy climbed up Bardon saw a hand shoot seemingly from nowhere and grab the boy. He looked where the hand had come from and smiled. Horgold was standing, hardly visible even to his trained eyes at the edge of the window waiting for the boys who were the sneakiest to come to him. Bardon listened to the lecture that Horgold gave the boy knowing that very soon he would be getting a very similar one for his carelessness in letting the boy get by him. He stood for a moment later before dashing off to catch the final boy in his area.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"How many times have I told you to focus on the task at hand?" the older ranger asked angrily, "You were barely even focusing out there. You need to use your brain. Even if you have all the skills in the world you won't be any good unless you use your brain. You were lucky I was there otherwise you would have ruined our three hundred year record of no new recruit getting through to the kitchen in this castle."

"That kid was good, I just forgot for a minute how many I had caught." The younger of the two rangers said.

"If you forgot how many you had killed in a real mission, you would be dead right now, not getting a lecture from me." Horgold countered

"_Maybe that would be better_" the ranger being lectured thought, but instead he said "I think he's my choice for an apprentice."

"I have mine picked out as well" said the ranger captain.

At the choosing stand later that day the ten boys that had made it to the final stage of choosing were standing before the two rangers and the battlemaster.

"When will he be coming?" the redheaded battlemaster asked

"Patience Rogeir, he will be here soon, I can hear him coming up the stairs." The skilled ranger said. Just then the bulky man burst through the door.

"Baron" the children said together.

"Hello Children" the overweight Baron said, "are you ready to be chosen?"

"Yes Mr. Baron" the children chorused. "Good, Horgold, Bardon, have you chosen from these fine recruits?"

"Yes we have and we are confident in our decisions." Horgold answered.

"Now for roll call, Marek Olander" The Baron called

"Here" one of the boys said

"Aldric Quinn" the Baron called the next name

"Here" answered the boy.

The Baron continued in this manner for the other eight boys and found them all in attendance. Then the choosing began.

"First of all we shall have the Ranger captain choose his apprentice." The Baron told the boys. All the boys knew that this was the best position in the castle. This was the dream of every boy in the knight school. These ten boys were the best of the best in the school and had the chance to be chosen by one of the two Rangers. This opportunity only came once every three years when the last Ranger apprentice graduated from his apprenticeship.

The tall ranger stepped forward and pointed at the boy whom he had seen during the training exercise. He had talked to the boy and learned his name beforehand.

"Leif Rockwaller" The ranger announced taking the boy away from the rest of the group. The younger ranger was surprised because he felt sure that the ranger captain would choose the best recruit for the job. What did he see in this other boy?

"Well chosen Horgold, this boy is a fine young man." The Baron said "Now, it is time for Bardon to pick his apprentice."

Bardon walked forward and chose the boy that had almost made it past the final challenge. He knew that this boy was already quite good at sneaking so he would be a good recruit for the rangers.

"Now for the final choice the Battlemaster will choose his apprentice." The baron announced. The Baron walked forward as the rangers had done and pointed to the strongest boy of the group who was now to become the chief warrior for this division of knights. "Good said the Baron, now for the feast."

Bardon laughed and whispered into the older ranger's ear

"This is what he's been waiting for all day, he wasn't interested in the choosing at all." Both ranger's laughed and followed the Baron out the door to the feast.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Hope you enjoy, review with tips or encouragement.**

"Leif" Horgold called to his apprentice

"Yes master" His apprentice replied coming down the stairs

"We are leaving for a few days." Horgold said, "Prepare your travel bag. Make sure you pack your ranger cloak as well as plenty of food and water and firewood. We leave in an hour."

"Yes master" Leif said as he ran back up the stairs to his room.

The ranger captain and his apprentice were walking silently through the forest. Horgold was giving his new apprentice a lecture on the importance of vigilance.

"If you are not vigilant, your enemy will be able to outsmart you and therefore defeat you. You must always be expecting the worst, and hoping for the best." The experienced ranger told his apprentice. "Now to start your first day of training." Horgold said to Leif as they walked into a clearing with targets all around, an assortment of weapons, and other equipment that Leif did not recognize.

"What is this place?" Leif asked in amazement

"This is my training ground." Horgold said, "All my apprentices have trained here and the location is a closely guarded secret. So, are you ready to begin your training?"

"Yes sir!" Leif said excitedly, "Can I choose a bow?"

"Soon, soon, but the first thing you need to learn is to move without being seen. This is the most important skill in a ranger's arsenal. If you know how to use it, it can be much more dangerous than you sword or bow." Horgold told his disappointed apprentice. "The first thing you need to learn is how to stay still. I want you to go out into the forest area. I will turn around wait until you are in position, then I'll turn around. Your job is to stay perfectly still and try to hide from me. If you can hide from me, then I'll let you train with weapons."

"Okay, so all I have to do is go and hide over in the forest?" Leif asked

"It's not as easy as it sounds, I have sharp eyes. You may be able to hide from your friends, but I am a ranger." Horgold told him. "Now, go hide" he said as he turned around. The boy ran quietly into the forest, too quiet for normal ears to follow, but Horgold's ears were anything but normal. He had over thirty years of experience tracking people with only the sound of their footsteps. He heard the boy stop. He turned slowly around and was surprised to find himself actually looking for the young trainee. He soon spotted the boy and called him out. "Nice job" Horgold congratulated Leif "Not many can stay hidden from me for that long. Now how about we work on your breathing control; and tomorrow I think you've earned the right to train with weapons."

They continued the training session until dusk, then went into the cabin to get a good night's sleep for the training tomorrow.

At the crack of dawn Horgold awoke and went to the main room of the cabin only to find that he was not the only one that was up early.

"Why are you up so early Leif?" Horgold asked the young apprentice who was cooking at the fire

"I was so excited for this morning that I couldn't sleep well so I came down here and made breakfast because I figured you would be down here around dawn." Leif told him "Would you like some coffee?"

Horgold couldn't resist the coffee that his apprentice had made. He loved a good cup of coffee to keep him more awake and alert. He took the coffee and his food and they ate in silence. After the meal the ranger and his apprentice went out to the archery range. This particular archery range had targets that were much smaller and farther away than the normal castle archery range.

"Now Leif, the first part in choosing a bow is the proper size. As an apprentice, you will use a recurve bow until you are tall enough to handle a full-size long bow. You will probably need a bow like this." Horgold said handing him a bow "Try pulling the string back." Horgold commanded. Leif pulled hard on the string, but he couldn't budge it. "Nope, that's not it." Horgold said "Try this one." Again Leif pulled, but this time it slid back easier. "Good, now to test your skills. Do you see the blue target about fifteen yards out?" Horgold asked.

"Yes, do you want me to shoot that one?" Leif asked.

"Yes, try to hit that one if you can." Horgold said. Leif knocked an arrow, pulled back, aimed, and released the arrow.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Hope you enjoy my first 1000 plus chapter. Review and tell me where I went wrong.**

The arrow flew towards the target faster than Leif's eyes could follow. It flew past the target about a foot to the right thudding into a tree five yards behind the target. Leif looked at his master disappointed.

"That was a good shot." Horgold told him smiling "Go retrieve the arrow and shoot at that target until you hit it."

Leif continued to shoot arrows at the blue target for the remainder of the day. By the end of the day he was able to hit the target relatively consistently. He was still disappointed at how slowly he was learning the main skill of a ranger. He never knew that it could be that hard to learn to shoot a bow.

The next day Leif was up early again, ready for another day of training. Today, however, was not a day for weapons training. Today Horgold had arranged a ranger's history lesson for him.

"So, do you know how the ranger corps began?" Horgold asked his disappointed apprentice

"No sir, I don't really know." Leif replied.

"The ranger corps was introduced here in Andera in 1293 by King Nolan. He introduced them to counter the threat of the warriors from the northern tribes. At that time, the tribes had not yet united to form the 50 realms we have today. At that time the king had no true power, but King Nolan wanted the tribes to unite so he formed an army and sent the rangers to gather information and to sabotage the efforts of the North to break away. They succeeded in capturing the leaders and the war was over before it began thanks to the ranger corps. Not a single life was lost, but the argument was compromised. Instead of everyone being under the direct control of the king, each realm would have its own baron, like the one you know from the castle. In each region there are two rangers and two apprentices. Here, Bardon and I are the two rangers and you are one of the apprentices." Horgold explained to his apprentice

"Where do all the apprentices that have been trained go?" Leif asked his Master

"All the apprentices that have been through the three year training program go to the annual meeting of the ranger corps. There, they host a competition known as the ranger games. The winners will go to a realm in need of a ranger as an assistant to the main ranger. The losers go to the castle and serve the king directly, going out on missions and reconnaissance for him to other countries." Horgold answered

"How many rangers are there at any time and what are the ranger games like?" Leif asked

"Well, there are usually anywhere from two-hundred to three-hundred rangers at any given time. Of those, one-hundred are full rangers in their own realm, while the others work at the castle. The ranger games are tough. In the first part you have to sneak past full rangers like Bardon and I to get to a prize or target. The second part is archery on horseback. The third part is the toughest of all, hand to hand combat. Horgold said gravely.

They continued their history lessons for the rest of the morning until lunch. After lunch the two rangers, apprentice and master, went outside to continue training with weapons. Today's lesson was about learning the weapons of a ranger.

"The first weapon of the rangers is the bow. It is important for the long range fighting that we often do. A ranger must be able to hit his target 99 out of 100 times. The next weapon that a ranger always keeps at his side is a throwing knife. You also must be able to hit a small target consistently with this. The last tangible weapon that a ranger apprentice uses is a combat knife. This is used when you're enemy gets to a close range. If you're a good ranger, this shouldn't ever be needed, but in emergency situations, you must be able to defend yourself. Another use for this knife is to throw it hilt first and stun the enemy." Horgold lectured, "The final two weapons you will be using are not actual weapons, but they are just as important as any of the others. The first is your mind and the second is your hands. Both are part of you, but you must learn to control them if you are to become a ranger."

"What about a sword, don't ranger's use a sword too?" Leif asked somewhat confused

"Only full rangers can wear a sword and they only do that when they are on a mission against very powerful enemies." Horgold replied

"Oh, okay" Leif said somewhat disappointed.

"Now, I need to show you how you would normally wear your weapons on a mission or training exercise." Horgold got his cloak and put it on strapping a belt with a knife scabbard on each side. Then he took the bow and removed the string putting it in a pouch on his belt then he tied his bow to a backpack before putting the backpack on. "This is the standard pack and weapons that you will be carrying on our missions. Now you try putting it on."

After struggling with the belt and knives for several minutes, Horgold leaned over and helped him attach it. After getting his backpack on with the bow strapped to it, Horgold told him to take it all off and restring the bow. He did it and then was told to put it back on. They continued this exercise for several more hours until he could put the gear on and take it off quicker than he thought possible. Horgold also taught him the fighting stances to shoot a bow or throw a knife.

Leif was really tired that night when he went to his room. He thought that he would be farther along in his ranger training. He was also surprised that rangers did not normally use swords. All the rumors he had heard were that they used them always. He stayed up thinking about how his life had changed since he became a ranger. He fell asleep wondering how much more it would change.


End file.
